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Calif. PUC Rules Electric Vehicle Service Providers Eligible for Residential Rates, Limits Utilities' Ownership of EV Equipment
July 15, 2011
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The California PUC approved a decision yesterday under which, except in limited circumstances, electric vehicle service providers operating in residential settings shall be served under the otherwise applicable residential rates (Docket R.09-08-009).
In situations where the electric vehicle service provider provides all the equipment required to charge an electric vehicle at a home together with a charging service, and in which the electric vehicle service provider separately charges customers for the electricity used to charge their vehicle, the electric vehicle service provider, not the homeowner, would be the utility's customer.
As such, the utilities had proposed making such electric vehicle service providers ineligible for residential rates for their consumption, and charging them commercial rates.
The PUC, however, "find[s] that in order to preserve equitable, cost of service treatment and maintain a level playing field between utilities and electric vehicle service providers, existing residential Electric Vehicle rates should apply to electric vehicle service providers operating in the residential setting."
Electric vehicle service providers should only be eligible for residential rates designed to serve electric vehicle load and, therefore, would not be eligible for non-time-of-use general service rates in the residential context, the PUC said. "We adopt this limitation to ensure that electric vehicle service providers have appropriate rate incentives in the provision of their services in the residential setting to encourage off-peak charging," the PUC said.
Additionally, the PUC declined to treat non-residential electric vehicle charging differently from other types of non-residential electricity usage. "We find that, at this early market stage, any additional costs placed on the system are adequately reflected in existing rates applicable to non-residential customers. Therefore, no need exists to develop rates specifically for customers with quick charge facilities. Notably the tariffs now available in the commercial and industrial context are characterized by a number of design features and eligibility requirements that serve to ensure that electric vehicle service providers bear the costs appropriate to their impacts on the electric system. These include all or some combination of time-of-use rates, demand charges, and/or eligibility criteria that limit the capacity under a given tariff to a pre-defined maximum," the PUC held.
The PUC will review rates applicable to electric vehicle charging in the 2013-14 period.
Furthermore, the PUC concluded that, "[t]he benefits of utility ownership of electric vehicle service equipment do not outweigh the competitive limitation that may result from utility ownership, with the exception of electric vehicle service equipment used to charge their own electric vehicle fleets or provide workplace charging for utility employees."
While utilities and other parties had argued that having utilities own the customer-facing charging infrastructure would drive down costs due to a "single buyer," the PUC concluded that such an approach would rather, "in all likelihood, limit customer choice and, perhaps, even dampen the competition that may yield cost reducing innovation."
"As such, we do not find that the benefits of utility ownership of electric vehicle service equipment outweigh the potential for competitive limitations resulting from utility ownership," the PUC said.
However, should the utilities present evidence of underserved markets or market failure for electric vehicle services in areas where utility involvement is prohibited, the PUC will revisit this prohibition.
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